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Thermal Column

The thermal column irradiation facility, which is situated behind the thermal column extension in the west wall of the reactor pool, consists of a large volume of graphite to thermalize neutrons and offers a very thermalized neutron field in a four-inch by four-inch area for experimentation. At the core end of the thermal column, there is a maximum total flux of ~5x1011 n/cm2/s and a maximum thermal flux of ~2.5x1011 n/cm2/s. At the other end of the thermal column, the flux is ~3x109 n/cm2/s, which is nearly all thermal.

An aluminum sample holder box is available for irradiation of samples in the thermal column, and an acrylic “sled” is available for irradiation of neutron-sensitive detectors.